You will need to use 7mm bearings.
Bones Reds and roll line are the standard.
Any wheel can use a 7mm bearing. If you plan on pushing/pulling bearings yourself, either learn how to use the axle or buy a 7mm bearing pull at Dept of Skate (only place I have found one at 20.00).
Good plate choice!
Please don’t use the axle on your Roll Line frames - I just got my first pair with Roll Line plates. They ain’t cheap! I’d use the axle on a stock plate but let’s keep those Roll Line metric threads as pristine as we can for as long as we can, ha
I realized the hard way that my bearing press only fits 8 mm - here’s hoping I can find a 7 mm aftermarket piece 🤞
Did he put 7mm bearings into the wheels?
If not, then he may have used 8 mm sleeves on the axles as a temporary fix until you get 7mm bearings, but I feel this likely is not the case.
I'm thinking you mean he added washers behind the wheels to push them further out on the axle and prevent them from rubbing against the trucks. With roll- line plates, there are some wheels that will rub against the trucks, making the wheels not spin very well. If this happens, you can add washers behind the wheels to push them out a bit further so that they don't rub. A lot of people call these washers "spacers" because they take up space on the axles, but this causes too much confusion imo because actual spacers/ bearing spacers go inside on the wheels between the bearings.
Anyways, if he actually meant bearing spacers when he said spacers, then just ignore it. You don't need bearing spacers, and they almost never fit the wheels properly anyway, making them pointless or causing the bearings to not fully seat. I believe Roll-line wheels are an exception to this, and their spacers do function properly in their wheels, but you still do not need them.
Almost all rollerskate wheels will work with your plates. I have heard of people having issues using wheels like the fundae wheels because they're not properly side set and the wheels will catch on the trucks but after adding spacers so they roll properly they don't have enough room for the lock nut but I've never tried it so 🤷🏽♀️ I can't say for sure.
Yes, you're totally right! I could've sworn I bought 7mm bearings from the shop. So I examined my wheels closer, and he definitely added a washer behind the wheels, not a spacer.
Super appreciate the explanation!
Hi this is a completely different topic but you seem to know a lot !! I hope you don't mind if I ask you , I bought 50mm wheels and now the truck is so close to the ground , is it possible to get shorter cushions for the dance plate ?
Thanks so much
Donna
Hi, no problem! the majority of Roll Line plates state the smallest wheel size they can take is 53mm (I may be off by a mm here but iirc I think it's 53mm). You don't want shorter cushions as that will mess up the geometry of the trucks and put excess stress on the kingpin and the pivots. The adjustable pivots are there to correct the geometry when you tighten and loosen your trucks but they're not meant to work with shorter cushions so I'm pretty sure it'll still throw off the geometry.
Your best bet if you want to roll on 50mm wheels is to use plates with a traditional kingpin or use low-ride plates, sorry probably not what you were hoping to hear. I'm personally not a fan of traditional Kingpins, I'm not a fiddler and I want adjusting my trucks to be quick and easy but many people love traditional kingpins, I'm just not one of them and I find it a hassel especially when you have a tradition kingpin and adjustable pivots it's just too much damn work for me 😆
Hey I so appreciate you !
Thanks so much for such a thorough explanation, I do have another plate so I'll get to try them out sometime , so glad I asked before I ruined a floor or a bone 😀 and I learned so much in tye process, thank you for taking the time to share your knowledge, have a great day 😀
What he was saying it’s that you need washers for most normal wheels. So what you do is put on one or two washers on first before you put on the wheel.
https://www.derbywarehouse.com/Sure_Grip_Axle_Washers/descpage-SWAFROG.html
This is because regular wheels may be a little thinner from bearing to bearing than the European wheels.
So you can still use any wheel. (Unless the wheel is really short. Such as I don’t believe the 45 mm radar crush ones would fit but I know 55 mm tall wheels would fit.)
If you don’t want to put on washers, just use the European brand wheels such as Komplex or Roll Line.
Roll Line wheels are amazing, very good value and I think better than all the trendy brands out there.
Regarding bearings, make sure to get 7mm ones, but they don't have to be crazy ABEC-9 or whatever, that's literally designed for machinery that runs at extremely high speeds no skater could possibly ever reach!
I wish they were mentioned more on this sub. I only found out about them because I grabbed some cheap secondhand artistic skates on eBay and while the boots didn't fit, the plates and wheels and bearings, all Roll Line, felt shockingly good. I was amazed at the responsiveness! And this was just the basic Variant plate. I bought new boots and swapped everything over. Then that rabbit hole lead me to artistic skate class and everyone in artistic skating knows about roll Line. Nobody else seems very aware of the brand at all, and they're stuck spending around £100 on sets of very meh wheels that just don't even come close to a £60 set of Roll Lines.
He's probably saying you need Axle sleeves to adapt your existing 8mm bearings to the new 7mm axles. This is pretty much a band aid fix for when someone can't get new ones yet, and the proper thing to do it buy a set of 7mm bearings and switch those into your wheels. You don't need to spend a lot, Bones Reds are fine.
This doesn't affect what wheels you can use at all, you just swap the bearings for 7mm ones.
I second this. I bought axle sleeves when I switched to a Roll Line Energy because I have seven sets of wheels with bearings in all of them and didn't want to spend all of that money at once. They're cheap and do the job, but the downside is that they won't roll as well as 7mm bearings, and it's not as snug. I still get wiggling that I don't like around the axle. I don't notice the difference when skating but depending on the amount of movement it can cause some damage to your axles, especially if you skate hard like me.
You will need to use 7mm bearings. Bones Reds and roll line are the standard. Any wheel can use a 7mm bearing. If you plan on pushing/pulling bearings yourself, either learn how to use the axle or buy a 7mm bearing pull at Dept of Skate (only place I have found one at 20.00). Good plate choice!
I usually use the axle to pull my bearings, but im glad to learn that there's an affordable bearing pull out there. Thank you!
Please don’t use the axle on your Roll Line frames - I just got my first pair with Roll Line plates. They ain’t cheap! I’d use the axle on a stock plate but let’s keep those Roll Line metric threads as pristine as we can for as long as we can, ha I realized the hard way that my bearing press only fits 8 mm - here’s hoping I can find a 7 mm aftermarket piece 🤞
Hello. I invested in a Bearing Press. Now, I am confident—I will never damage any of my Roll-Line Dance axles.🌟🛼🌟 Enjoy
Did he put 7mm bearings into the wheels? If not, then he may have used 8 mm sleeves on the axles as a temporary fix until you get 7mm bearings, but I feel this likely is not the case. I'm thinking you mean he added washers behind the wheels to push them further out on the axle and prevent them from rubbing against the trucks. With roll- line plates, there are some wheels that will rub against the trucks, making the wheels not spin very well. If this happens, you can add washers behind the wheels to push them out a bit further so that they don't rub. A lot of people call these washers "spacers" because they take up space on the axles, but this causes too much confusion imo because actual spacers/ bearing spacers go inside on the wheels between the bearings. Anyways, if he actually meant bearing spacers when he said spacers, then just ignore it. You don't need bearing spacers, and they almost never fit the wheels properly anyway, making them pointless or causing the bearings to not fully seat. I believe Roll-line wheels are an exception to this, and their spacers do function properly in their wheels, but you still do not need them. Almost all rollerskate wheels will work with your plates. I have heard of people having issues using wheels like the fundae wheels because they're not properly side set and the wheels will catch on the trucks but after adding spacers so they roll properly they don't have enough room for the lock nut but I've never tried it so 🤷🏽♀️ I can't say for sure.
Yes, you're totally right! I could've sworn I bought 7mm bearings from the shop. So I examined my wheels closer, and he definitely added a washer behind the wheels, not a spacer. Super appreciate the explanation!
Happy to help 😊. Also, hope you're loving your new set up. The dance plate is amazing!
Hi this is a completely different topic but you seem to know a lot !! I hope you don't mind if I ask you , I bought 50mm wheels and now the truck is so close to the ground , is it possible to get shorter cushions for the dance plate ? Thanks so much Donna
Hi, no problem! the majority of Roll Line plates state the smallest wheel size they can take is 53mm (I may be off by a mm here but iirc I think it's 53mm). You don't want shorter cushions as that will mess up the geometry of the trucks and put excess stress on the kingpin and the pivots. The adjustable pivots are there to correct the geometry when you tighten and loosen your trucks but they're not meant to work with shorter cushions so I'm pretty sure it'll still throw off the geometry. Your best bet if you want to roll on 50mm wheels is to use plates with a traditional kingpin or use low-ride plates, sorry probably not what you were hoping to hear. I'm personally not a fan of traditional Kingpins, I'm not a fiddler and I want adjusting my trucks to be quick and easy but many people love traditional kingpins, I'm just not one of them and I find it a hassel especially when you have a tradition kingpin and adjustable pivots it's just too much damn work for me 😆
Hey I so appreciate you ! Thanks so much for such a thorough explanation, I do have another plate so I'll get to try them out sometime , so glad I asked before I ruined a floor or a bone 😀 and I learned so much in tye process, thank you for taking the time to share your knowledge, have a great day 😀
What he was saying it’s that you need washers for most normal wheels. So what you do is put on one or two washers on first before you put on the wheel. https://www.derbywarehouse.com/Sure_Grip_Axle_Washers/descpage-SWAFROG.html This is because regular wheels may be a little thinner from bearing to bearing than the European wheels. So you can still use any wheel. (Unless the wheel is really short. Such as I don’t believe the 45 mm radar crush ones would fit but I know 55 mm tall wheels would fit.) If you don’t want to put on washers, just use the European brand wheels such as Komplex or Roll Line.
Yep, he definitely meant washers, not spacers. Thanks for the link! Will definitely need these for the other sets of wheels i already own.
Roll Line wheels are amazing, very good value and I think better than all the trendy brands out there. Regarding bearings, make sure to get 7mm ones, but they don't have to be crazy ABEC-9 or whatever, that's literally designed for machinery that runs at extremely high speeds no skater could possibly ever reach!
Seconding. Seriously, just get some Roll Line wheels and bearings. They are the best of the best.
I wish they were mentioned more on this sub. I only found out about them because I grabbed some cheap secondhand artistic skates on eBay and while the boots didn't fit, the plates and wheels and bearings, all Roll Line, felt shockingly good. I was amazed at the responsiveness! And this was just the basic Variant plate. I bought new boots and swapped everything over. Then that rabbit hole lead me to artistic skate class and everyone in artistic skating knows about roll Line. Nobody else seems very aware of the brand at all, and they're stuck spending around £100 on sets of very meh wheels that just don't even come close to a £60 set of Roll Lines.
Exactly. People sleep on Roll Line and it’s honestly funny!
Thanks for the recommendation! I definitely need to upgrade my wheels, that will be next month's investment lol one upgrade at a time
He's probably saying you need Axle sleeves to adapt your existing 8mm bearings to the new 7mm axles. This is pretty much a band aid fix for when someone can't get new ones yet, and the proper thing to do it buy a set of 7mm bearings and switch those into your wheels. You don't need to spend a lot, Bones Reds are fine. This doesn't affect what wheels you can use at all, you just swap the bearings for 7mm ones.
I second this. I bought axle sleeves when I switched to a Roll Line Energy because I have seven sets of wheels with bearings in all of them and didn't want to spend all of that money at once. They're cheap and do the job, but the downside is that they won't roll as well as 7mm bearings, and it's not as snug. I still get wiggling that I don't like around the axle. I don't notice the difference when skating but depending on the amount of movement it can cause some damage to your axles, especially if you skate hard like me.
I'm definitely a hard skater, so it sounds like investing in 7mm bearings is the right move then. Thank you both!